ECD commissioner: Memphis Megasite needs another $72M in state funding

Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe says another $72 million in state funding is needed to complete work on the Memphis Regional Megasite, reports the Jackson Sun. That would push total state investment in the 4,100-acre site, so far unused, well past the $200 million mark.

The state has appropriated $143.6 million for the 4,100-acre Megasite to date, but Rolfe said there is an estimated $72 million in improvements needed for the Megasite.

Rolfe broke down the $72 million needed as $32 million for wastewater improvements, $13.5 million for electrical improvements, $10 million for gas improvements, $8.5 million for water improvements and $8 million for railroad improvements.

Rolfe said his team met with Haslam to discuss their plans, but have yet to hear Haslam’s plans for the Megasite for the upcoming year.

“The governor has not come back and shared with us what he will recommend in the new budget,” Rolfe said. “He’s going to recommend additional funding in the 2019 budget, I think.”

Rolfe and the ECD team answered questions from the Megasite Authority Board at a special called Memphis Regional Megasite Authority meeting.

The definition of when the Megasite would be “shovel ready” was addressed, as that was one reason Toyota-Mazda and an undisclosed tenant recently eliminated the Megasite from consideration.

2 Responses to ECD commissioner: Memphis Megasite needs another $72M in state funding

On the Campaign Trail, I have been speaking out about the continuous rise in the State Budget under Gov Haslam. I think that he has created such an enormous rise in our commitments and our State Budget that he wants to leave the office and leave it in a large “Mess” that the next Governor will have to spend almost every day and into the nights trying to figure out a way to get us out of his mess that there will be little time for anything else. Ok it appears that the State’s investment in Memphis was either miscalculated in the interest from large corporations or the money that was appropriated/committed to this project was mismanaged because now they are saying that two of the major elements in any investment site are the Electrical provisions and the Wastewater is a given which is always figured in the upfront cost. So we should look at whose ideal was it to purchase this property in the first place and if owned by a corporation, the people have the right to know who the “PEOPLE” are behind the corporation. We need to look at what the projected cost were and who was in charge of “letting” the bids out and do we know if and who bid on this project. It seems like I am beginning to smell some “Dead Fish” in this large lake of Budget Increases to cover bad decisions and raising the Gas Tax is not an answer at all, in fact it is more of a burden on the people. Sickening!